For 31 days now, I’ve been running a wireless distribution system between two Linksys WRT54GL routers over 500 feet apart through a wooded area. I’m using the Tomato Firmware on the WRT54GL’s. So far it’s been rock solid and very stable. It will be interesting to see if the network stays as stable and reliable as the leaves come in and the forest between the two devices thickens.
I’m not going to go through the settings and specifics of this setup.The setup was very easy. All the references and instructions I needed were at PolarCloud.com website.
But I did want to share my experience that it truely is possible to get 802.11g over a great distance. The speed to the internet is not as great from the far end as it is from the head end. Averages 1.4MBps download speed. The ping rate floats between 65ms and 110ms.
It’s been a fun experiment. I’m considering trying it over 802.11n but am not satisfied on what routers to buy that are supported by an open firmware.
Michael Johnson Hardware Cisco, Hardware, Linksys, network, Software, Tomato, WDS, wifi
OpenDNS is a free service to replace your ISP’s DNS settings and in most cases it will speed up DNS searches. The real advantage of setting up an OpenDNS account is the anti-phishing and other content filtering options.
If you are not familiar with what DNS is or does then let me briefly explain. When you visit a website, your computer needs to determine where that domain is on the internet. So it looks up the IP address for the domain from a Domain Name Service (DNS). Typically, your computer gets the DNS settings automatically from your ISP. However, you can configure your computer to use another DNS, like OpenDNS.
OpenDNS has plenty of instructions on how to use OpenDNS for your network.
Once you have an account and your computer or router setup, then take a look at Parental Controls control panel. Using the minimal or low filtering level. This will protect you when you visit a site that OpenDNS has determined might be a potential threat. Or if you have young children in the house that you wish to protect from cetain kinds of sites then you can try a higher level or custom filter certain categories.
I’ve been using it on my home router for just about a year. I am very happy with OpenDNS.
Michael Johnson Security anti-phishing, DNS, filtering, network, OpenDNS, phishing, router, Security
